Several times over the past five days, I've been tempted to write a silly diary along the lines of "I'm so stressed and getting depressed, and god help
me through the election 'cause..." blah, blah, blah. We're all having days like that, right?
Well, tonight my boyfriend and I went over to my parents', and got into a discussion with my dad about politics. Fortunately, my mom and dad are hardcore Democrats (they took me to the polls when I was three, when they voted for McGovern), otherwise there would be some problems.
However, most of my mom's side of the family are Republicans.
With the exception of her brothers, the men in my mom's family are West Point graduates going back four generations. My
great grandfather was in World War I, and my grandfather was in WWII and Korea, for instance. So, needless to say, my mom grew up in a conservative environment; her oldest siste married an Air Force man, who, upon retirement from the Air Force, worked for
Raytheon (makers of the
Patriot missile) for 20 years. Both my aunt and uncle have been staunch Republicans forever, and
were ardent Bush supporters.
When I volunteered for the Dean campaign in New Hampshire in January, I visited my aunt and uncle in Massachusetts for a few days. The joke between my cousins and me was that we couldn't talk politics with my aunt and uncle, unless we wanted things to get ugly.
Well, within a few months, my aunt was calling my mom and expressing her dissatisfaction, and then her disgust, with the Bush administration, on everything from Iraq to Bush's disastrous environmental policies. However, my uncle was still in the Bush camp... until a few weeks ago, when he started talking about how badly things are going in Iraq, how bad the economy is, and most importantly, his concerns about healthcare, as he is eligible for Medicare next year.
Tonight, my dad told us that my mom had heard from her sister earlier.
My aunt and uncle have decided to vote for Kerry. They are firm Kerry supporters, to the point that they won't read the newspaper or watch TV anymore until after the election, because they're so sick of the Swift Boat liars, and more and more blatant lies from Bush and his buddies.
This isn't meant to be a feel-good diary. I just wanted to tell you that if my very, very Republican aunt and uncle have decided to vote for Kerry, there may be more than a few other wealthy conservatives out there who might be changing their minds right about now.
So, good luck with your GOTV efforts, and just know, there is hope!